f+h Intralogistics 5/2016

World trade is

World trade is experiencing radical change – shifting from quantity to quality New production methods, comprehensive networking solutions, and increasingly rapid flows of goods and information are setting the parameters for world trade of tomorrow. Logistics are not just part of these changes but are driving them. There’s something big in the offing for Hamburg! Mega-ships with a capacity of more than 20,000 standard containers are headed for one of the most important ports in northern Europe. Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) has already prepared berths 5/6 of its container terminals for the arrival of the mega-freighters. Five of the most modern tandem container bridges with their 74-meterlong jibs will process the largest ships in the world, lifting a payload of almost 100 tons. According to HHLA’s estimates, when a 20,000 TEU ship docks, between 11,000 and 14,000 TEU are handled at one terminal per call. “The peak loads that must be handled are enormous, whether it’s water-side handling, warehouse storage, or port-to-hinterland transport,” says Jens Hansen, Managing Director of the Burchardkai Container Terminal (CTB). Hamburg is an important hub on the route between Asia and northern Europe, one of the world’s “trade superhighways.” On the harshly competitive transport markets, About Dachser SE As one of the leading logistics specialists worldwide, Dachser posted total sales of 5.6 billion euros in 2015. Founded in 1930, the family business has 26,506 employees around the world at 428 locations. The Dachser business model includes transport logistics, warehousing and customer-specific services within two business divisions: Dachser Road Logistics and Dachser Air & Sea Logistics. shipowners and port operators have to stay one step ahead of the competition by implementing efficiency measures and managing capacity utilization wisely. While these container giants may seem like the prestigious flagships of globalization, the environment in which they will be operating is anything but simple. The container shipping industry is battling overcapacity. But it isn’t just the volatility on the sea freight market that is depressing the overall mood. The World Trade Organization (WTO) just recently downgraded its growth forecast for world trade: 2.8 percent are predicted for 2016. “The curve is moving upward for world trade, but its speed is disappointingly slow,” says Roberto Azevêdo, Director General of the WTO. RUBRIK GLOBAL BUSINESS

As some of the reasons for this, the WTO mentions the cooldown of the Chinese economy, the increasing unpredictability of the financial markets, and low commodity prices. Nevertheless, Asia is still leading the pack with 3.5 percent growth, followed by Europe and North America at 3.1 percent. Monday, April 18, 2016, Shanghai: As a sales market, China is constantly growing. This means that the demand for high-quality logistics services, for example, warehousing and contract logistics, is also increasing Edoardo Podestá, Managing Director Dachser Air & Sea Logistics Asia Pacific Yangshan port in Shanghai is bustling. It is one of the largest freight terminals in the world, handling more than 33 million standard containers every year. The cranes and container bridges are working at full tilt, moving the huge steel boxes around like so many colorful Lego bricks. China’s biggest gateway to world trade is just as busy as ever. This afternoon, there’s no sign of a sluggish Chinese economy. Edoardo Podestá, Managing Director Dachser Air & Sea Logistics Asia Pacific, is not surprised: “Due to its dynamic nature and its multifaceted potential, China is and continues to be a market of superlatives—and people always have very high expectations of it.” Dachser has been doing business in China since 1976; the first stepping stone back then was an office in Hong Kong. Today, the logistics provider not only has several offices in China but is represented in Singapore, Taiwan, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam as well. The company has roughly 1,500 employees at more than 55 locations in the APAC region. As a sales market, China is constantly growing. “This means that the demand for high-quality logistics services, for example, warehousing and contract logistics, is also increasing,” Podestá says. Dachser has registered high growth rates in the intra-Asian market. Trade routes have long since ceased to run solely between the Old and New Worlds and China. Now emerging markets play a major role in Asia’s economic development, too — for example, when Chinese consumers furnish their bathrooms with fittings from India or equip their homes and businesses with solar panels from Taiwan, one of the largest producers of solar cell technology in the world. In recent years, India, Bangladesh, and Thailand, in particular, have established themselves successfully as locations for industry and hubs for intra-Asian trade. In these three countries alone, Dachser now has more than 700 employees. “The complexity of our services has grown substantially,” Podestá points out. “For example, these days we do more for automotive OEMs and second- and third-tier suppliers than just import parts from Europe: we offer them our entire range of logistics services.” In the Asia Pacific region, Dachser is focusing particularly on multinational companies and SMEs, who value having an experienced partner like Dachser. According to Podestá, more and more customers are interested specifically in a one-carrier strategy: “They want to take advantage of Dachser’s tried-and-trusted quality services in Asia, too – maximum transparency, integrated overland, air, and sea freight networks, standardized IT systems, and customer interfaces.” Networked logistics leads directly from the water to the street Reset button for reindustrialization The Wall Street Journal detects a fundamental structural change in the global economy. A glance at the foreign investments that result in the outsourcing of jobs to emerging economies suffices. While in 2,000 these jobs were producing four percent of global economic output, that figure is since down by 50 percent. “Internationalization is not destiny,” the Wall Street Journal concludes; even trends that seem set in stone “falter, sputter, or are reversed.” All of this impacts the worldwide flow of goods. Imports into the US reached their highest level in 2012 and have been declining ever since. Additionally, the largest global economy is currently undergoing a reindustrialization. Because, according to the Wall Street Journal, China in its role as “workbench of the world” has recently become increasingly expensive, North America has already recovered a million jobs. Thomas Straubhaar, professor of economics at the University of Hamburg, believes that the “golden age” of trade in the sense of a mass market is over. “As far as the quantity of trade is concerned, we have reached—or passed—the peak. We have to pay far more attention to quality than in the past and reflect this in the changes that digitalization makes possible.” He concludes that it is imperative to increase the intrinsic value of exports. According to Professor Straubhaar, today, it is less about being world champion in the volume of exports than in value creation. Friday, April 29, 2016, Mexico City: Guido Gries, Managing Director Air & Sea Logistics Dachser America, has arrived from Miami and is on his way to the local Dachser office. On one of the major arterials, he drives past a car carrier trailer, its warning lights flashing, which is in the process of unloading a truck-full of brand new mid-size cars and SUVs at a car dealership. For the automotive industry, Mexico is a kind of El Dorado. In 2014, 3.2 million cars came off the assembly lines of Mexican automobile Logistics is creating the foundation for globalized value chains, which, in turn, create more growth Guido Gries, Managing Director Air & Sea Logistics Dachser America f+hIntralogistics 5/2016